Pea viner



June 8, 1943- w.' CHRISILEL PEA VINER Filed April 5, 1941 'INVENTOR.Wax/44 E C/vw/Jrfl WW v ATTORNEY.

Patented June 8, 1943 warren STATES PATENT OFFICE PEA VINER William F.Christel, Valders, Wis.

Application April 5, 1941, Serial No. 386,978

4 Claims.

This invention relates to pea viners for separating peas from harvestedpea vines.

Such machines ordinarily include an elongated, slowly rotating,substantially horizontal drum and an included rotary beater by which thepeas are removed from the pea laden vines during passage thereoflengthwise through the drum. In the main, such machines are quitesatisfactory in that the peers are removed, without damage, from thevines, but they are not thorough in their action and frequently requirerepassage of the vines therethrough in order to recover all of the peas.An object of the present invention is to im prove such machines by theaddition ofmeans efi'ective to insure complete removal and recovery ofsubstantially all of the peas in one passage The pea viner selected forillustration includes a conventional elongated drum Ill having endrings, one of which is shown at H, supported on the usual rollers l2,and slowly rotated clockwise (Fig. 2) in a well known manner byconventional mechanism not shown. The drum shown also includes the usualrelatively wide longitudinal bars l3 rigidly connecting the end rings IIand constituting supports for the conventional peripheral screens l4through which the removed peas escape into an appropriate receiverordinarily arranged beneath the drum.

Included within the drum I is a conventional beater comprising ahexagonal rotor I5, which extends axially through the drum, and which issupported and rotated in a Well known manner through appropriate endtrunnions, one of which is shown at l6 journalled in an appropriatesupport H. The rotor I carries a series of conventional paddles orbeaters l3 which project from the faces thereof and which are slightlyinclined, as usual, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rotor.

In machines of this type the rotor i5 is ordinarily driven in the samedirection but much faster than the drum Ill, the vines being lifted bythe shelf-like bars I 3, as the drum rotates, and permitted to fall bygravity toward the rotor, and during their fall they are beaten orbatted about by the heaters ill in a manner to remove the peastherefrom. This process continues as the vines pass slowly through thedrum, the ad- Vance thereof through the drum being brought about by theabove noted inclination of the heaters l8 with respect to the axis ofthe drum. The removed peas escape through the screens l4, and the vinesultimately emerge from the drum through the end ring II.

The structure and function of the parts thus far described are old andwell known in the art. As above noted, the present invention makesprovision for the effective removal of any peas which may not have beenremoved by the ordinary beating process during passage of the vinesthrough the drum. In the machine shown, this is accomplished by meanspreferably such as will now be described.

The means shown for this purpose includes a series of auxiliary bars l9fixed to the inner periphery of the end ring II and extending outwardlybeyond the same. The auxiliary bars l9 are preferably so arranged as toform extensions of the bars l3 although their function is quitedifferent from that of the latter. The projecting ends of the bars H!are encircled by a cylindrical screen 20 of a diameter substantiallyless than that of the drum, the screen being attached to the bars.

In the device shown, the end series of paddles [8' have been extendedthrough the end ring. ll so as to render them substantially coextensivewith the bars 19, and they coact with the bars to loosen and tear apartthe mass of vines passing therebetween and to separate the remainingpeas therefrom. To enhance this action, each extended paddle I8 ispreferably provided along its outer edge with a series of outwardlyprojecting prongs or teeth 2| which pass rather close to the severalbars l9 during rotation of the rotor [5 with respect to the drum.

A series of ribs 22 are also preferably provided on the inner peripheryof the end ring ll, these ribs being inclined with respect to the axisof the drum in such manner as to shed from the ring any peas that mightotherwise find lodgement thereon.

Various changes may be made in the embodiment of the inventionhereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacrificingthe advantages of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pea viner the combination of a rotating drum having a dischargeoutlet at one end thereof, means carried by said drum for lifting anddropping pea laden vines during passage thereof through said drum, arotor disposed axially of said drum, beaters carried by said rotor forremoving peas by impact from the falling vines within said drum, acircular series of bars extending lengthwise through said outlet at theinner periphery thereof, and members rotatable with said rotor andradially extended to provide a relatively narrow working clearancebetween said members and bars, said clearance being of an order toeffect removal of peas from said vines by a stripping action.

2. In a pea viner the combination of a rotating drum having a dischargeoutlet at one end thereof, means carried by said drum for lifting anddropping pea laden vines during passage thereof through said drum, arotor disposed axially of said drum, beaters carried by said rotor forremoving peas by impact from the falling vines within said drum, acircular series of bars extending lengthwise through and beyond saidoutlet at the inner periphery thereof, and members on said rotorextending through and beyond said outlet, said members being arranged toprovide a relatively narrow working clearance between said members andbars throughout the length of the latter, said clearance being of anorder to effect removal of peas from the vines by a stripping action.

3. In a pea viner the combination of a rotating drum, a ring forming adischarge outlet at one end of said drum, means carried by said drum forlifting and dropping pea laden vines during passage thereof through saiddrum, a rotor disposed axially of said drum, beaters carried by saidrotor for removing peas by impact from the falling vines within saiddrum, a circular series of bars extending lengthwise through and beyondsaid ring at the inner periphery thereof, a screen encircling theprojecting portions of said bars, and members on said rotor coactingwith the projecting portions of said bars to remove peas from said vinesafter passage of the latter through said outlet, said members and barsbeing relatively positioned to provide a relatively narrow workingclearance therebetween of an order to efiect removal of the peas by astripping action.

4. In a pea viner the combination of a rotating drum, having a dischargeoutlet at one end, means carried by said drum for lifting and droppingpea laden vines during passage thereof through said drum, a rotordisposed axially of said drum, beaters on said rotor for removing peasby impact from the falling vines within said drum, a circular series ofbars projecting lengthwise through and beyond said outlet adjacent theinner periphery thereof, a screen encircling the projecting portions ofsaid bars, members on said rotor coacting with said bars throughout thelength thereof to remove peas from said vines after passage of thelatter through said drum, and longitudinal rows of radially projectingfingers on said members disposed to provide a relatively narrow workingclearance between said fingers and bars of an order to effect removal ofthe peas by a stripping action.

WM. F. CHRISTEL.

